Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 11, 2006

Haha, I had this recipe in my cupboard but tweeked it a little. I make it every year during the holidays and everyone scrambles for more - in fact my mother-in-law hides them from the kids so she can finish them herself!!
What I tweeked was using almond slivers instead of whole almonds and added a light eggwash glaze before putting the almond on top. Gives a great golden colour, or I suppose you could use food colouring. Cutting in the butter (I use half butter, half butter flavoured Crisco) is a must! It keeps the center moist. I make my cookies a little bigger, so they cook for 20mins on 325*F. I also upped the sugar by 1/4c. and doubled the almond extract (trippling it gives a rich almond flavour). They come out looking a bit undone, but prick them with a toothpick and you'll see that they're well done :) Even without the eggwash, they're darn good!!

Most Helpful Critical Review

Feb 15, 2011

Needed to make changes to recipe, after reading reviews it was obvious that the dough was going to be too dry. So I was careful not to add all the flour and at 2 1/4 cups it started to get crumbly. Did use 3 tsp of almond extract as well. Baked with egg wash on top it also helped hold the almond in place and gave the cookie a more traditional appearance, kept in oven for 20 min till light golden brown. With all the recommended changes it was a nice Chinese cookie.

I also used half butter and half (butter-flavored) Crisco. Fabulous results, but I must mention I made half shaped as balls, and put half through my cookie press. I strongly preferred the latter. The presentation was nice, but the crunch of the little ones was awesome! For those, I used an interesting disk shape, and arranged almond slices on top to go along with the design. Beautiful! I'll go heavier on the extract next time.

these were so easy and they tasted great.
I rolled the dough into a log and chilled it. Then I used my Pampered Chef crinkle cutter to cut them into about 1/4" slices. Placed a couple almond slices on each one and baked them. My mother-in-law asked me where I bought them.
:-) how cool is that!

I was looking for the chinese almond cookie recipe for my 11 yr old daughter(she loves those cookies). I followed the recipe per the directions, even using the lard. I was very skeptical about these, but alas, I really enjoyed them. And my children, especially the 11 yr old, loved them (as well as my 5 yr old nephew, who kept asking, "Auntie can I get another cookie", Over and Over again. I had some pop up guest and they really enjoyed these cookies. One even took some home. I will try the butter/shortening combo to see if it will also be a hit. Thanks, for the recipe.

I've made these a number of times and they are absolutly wonderful. I always up the extract by at least 3 fold. For those that have crumbly dough, maybe try using a larger egg (like jumbo). It could add just enough moisture to help keep it together.

After reading EVERY review I decided to make these cookies using butter and crisco (I had never cooked with lard before so why start now right?). While the cookie came out quite tasty, it was far from authentic. If you are going for authenticity you absolutely MUST use lard, yellow food coloring (10 drops) and egg wash for the tops of the cookies. Once you roll the cookies into 1 inch balls - DO NOT use your hands to flatten cookies (the egg wash will sink into the grooves placed by your fingers and the result will be a striped cookie), use a small glass or other cookie flattening object. I flattened mine to about 1/4 inch. When egg washing, be sure to only do the tops and not the sides. 325 degrees for 20 minutes was perfect. The cookies came out nice and crisp. I also found that the next day they tasted even better!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.